Quotes

”24 hours a day, you sleep 6 hours, you have 18 hours left. There are some of you out there that sleep 8 hours or 9 hours - well I suggest, sleep faster.”

”24 hours a day, you sleep 6 hours, you have 18 hours left. There are some of you out there that sleep 8 hours or 9 hours - well I suggest, sleep faster.”

”A foreign accent is a sign of bravery.”

”A foreign accent is a sign of bravery.”

“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.”

“A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.”

“A long while ago, a great warrior faced a situation which made it necessary for him to make a decision which insured his success on the battlefield. He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe, whose men outnumbered his own. He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy’s country, unloaded soldiers and equipment, then gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them. Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, ”You see the boats going up in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice-we win, or we perish! They won.”

“A long while ago, a great warrior faced a situation which made it necessary for him to make a decision which insured his success on the battlefield. He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe, whose men outnumbered his own. He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy’s country, unloaded soldiers and equipment, then gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them. Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, ”You see the boats going up in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice-we win, or we perish! They won.”

“A lot of what we call work is noise.”

“A lot of what we call work is noise.”

“Ain’t no shame in holding on to grief. As long as you make room for other things too.”

“Ain’t no shame in holding on to grief. As long as you make room for other things too.”

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”

“All without judgment, simply observing, wondering, noticing, jostling for a peek inside the clockworks of the world passing by. The goal being to do this with every-increasing empathy — both looking out towards the world and inwards at my own body and mind and steps in that moment.”

“All without judgment, simply observing, wondering, noticing, jostling for a peek inside the clockworks of the world passing by. The goal being to do this with every-increasing empathy — both looking out towards the world and inwards at my own body and mind and steps in that moment.”

“Almost everyone is screwed up, broken, clingy, scared, and yet designed for joy. Even (or especially) people who seem to have it more or less together are more like the rest of us than you would believe. I try not to compare my insides to their outsides, because this makes me much worse than I already am, and if I get to know them, they turn out to have plenty of irritability and shadow of their own. Besides, those few people who aren’t a mess are probably good for about twenty minutes of dinner conversation.

This is good news, that almost everyone is petty, narcissistic, secretly insecure, and in it for themselves, because a few of the funny ones may actually long to be friends with you and me. They can be real with us, the greatest relief. As we develop love, appreciation, and forgiveness for others over time, we may accidentally develop those things toward ourselves, too.”

“Almost everyone is screwed up, broken, clingy, scared, and yet designed for joy. Even (or especially) people who seem to have it more or less together are more like the rest of us than you would believe. I try not to compare my insides to their outsides, because this makes me much worse than I already am, and if I get to know them, they turn out to have plenty of irritability and shadow of their own. Besides, those few people who aren’t a mess are probably good for about twenty minutes of dinner conversation.

This is good news, that almost everyone is petty, narcissistic, secretly insecure, and in it for themselves, because a few of the funny ones may actually long to be friends with you and me. They can be real with us, the greatest relief. As we develop love, appreciation, and forgiveness for others over time, we may accidentally develop those things toward ourselves, too.”

“Always eat your best thing. That way you’re always eating the best thing you’ve brought.”

“Always eat your best thing. That way you’re always eating the best thing you’ve brought.”

“As fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as fire, and immovable as the mountain.”

“As fast as the wind, as quiet as the forest, as daring as fire, and immovable as the mountain.”

“Attitude reflects leadership, captain.”

“Attitude reflects leadership, captain.”

“Bad times will always wake you up to the good things you hadn’t been appreciating.”

“Bad times will always wake you up to the good things you hadn’t been appreciating.”

“Be brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe you can change the world, and talented enough to do it.”

“Be productive, Be fantastically clever when necessary, Speak truth to power, Hit your dates, Don’t ship crap.”

“Be productive, Be fantastically clever when necessary, Speak truth to power, Hit your dates, Don’t ship crap.”

“Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounding yourself with assholes.”

“Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounding yourself with assholes.”

“Break down big projects into small, individual tasks, line them up and destroy them all.”

*(modified)

“But in baseball, sometimes championships aren’t the most important thing. Sometimes it’s just about who finds a way to keep showing up. Sometimes it’s about surviving.”

“Calm is contagious.”

“Calm is contagious.”

“Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?”

“That is the only time a man can be brave.”

“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.”

“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.”

“Discipline equals freedom.”

“Discipline equals freedom.”

“Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there; I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there; I did not die.”

“Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there; I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there; I did not die.”

”Each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness — an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.”

”Each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness — an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk.”

“Every man should keep a fair-sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends.”

“Every man should keep a fair-sized cemetery in which to bury the faults of his friends.”

”Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”

”Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”

”Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.'”

”Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.'”

“Freedom to, not freedom from.”

“Freedom to, not freedom from.”

“Hard work - Well enjoyed - Builds a man - Makes a life - Day by day.”

“Hard work - Well enjoyed - Builds a man - Makes a life - Day by day.”

“History isn’t over.”

“History isn’t over.”

“I always entertain the notion that I’m wrong, or that I’ll have to revise my opinion. Most of the time that feels good; sometimes it really hurts and is embarrassing.”

“I always entertain the notion that I’m wrong, or that I’ll have to revise my opinion. Most of the time that feels good; sometimes it really hurts and is embarrassing.”

”I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon if I can. I seek opportunity - not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, Humbled and dulled by having the State look after me. I want to take the calculated risk, To dream and to build. To fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole; I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; The thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of Utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence Nor my dignity for a handout I will never cower before any master Nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; To think and act for myself, To enjoy the benefit of my creations And to face the world boldly and say: This, with God’s help, I have done. All this is what it means to be an Entrepreneur.”

”I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon if I can. I seek opportunity - not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, Humbled and dulled by having the State look after me. I want to take the calculated risk, To dream and to build. To fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole; I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; The thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of Utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence Nor my dignity for a handout I will never cower before any master Nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; To think and act for myself, To enjoy the benefit of my creations And to face the world boldly and say: This, with God’s help, I have done. All this is what it means to be an Entrepreneur.”

“Similarly, this applies to food. I don’t trust folks who say they dislike certain foods (outside of dietary restrictions, et cetera, of course). Usually, it just means they haven’t had a good version of that food or haven’t learned how to eat it. Teju Cole writes, in the above mentioned book, that in the Yorùbá language you don’t say you can’t eat or “hate” a food, you say something like: I don’t yet know how to eat that food. Natto the fermented soybean staple here in Japan, was categorically inedible for me twenty years ago, felt like eating vomit the first few times I tried it, but because so many people love it, I figured the fault was in my buds. Over years I ordered it again and again and now — BOY DO I LOVE NATTO. Truly.”

“Similarly, this applies to food. I don’t trust folks who say they dislike certain foods (outside of dietary restrictions, et cetera, of course). Usually, it just means they haven’t had a good version of that food or haven’t learned how to eat it. Teju Cole writes, in the above mentioned book, that in the Yorùbá language you don’t say you can’t eat or “hate” a food, you say something like: I don’t yet know how to eat that food. Natto the fermented soybean staple here in Japan, was categorically inedible for me twenty years ago, felt like eating vomit the first few times I tried it, but because so many people love it, I figured the fault was in my buds. Over years I ordered it again and again and now — BOY DO I LOVE NATTO. Truly.”

”I love and admire my species, living and dead, and am totally dependent on them for my life and well being.”

”I love and admire my species, living and dead, and am totally dependent on them for my life and well being.”

“I think that the ultimate way you and I get lucky is if you have some success early in life, you get to find out early it doesn’t mean anything. Which means you get to start early the work of figuring out what does mean something.”

“I think that the ultimate way you and I get lucky is if you have some success early in life, you get to find out early it doesn’t mean anything. Which means you get to start early the work of figuring out what does mean something.”

“And, to be honest, I don’t have a specific agenda for what I want to do all that differently, apart from what I’m already trying to do every day: Identify and destroy small-return bullshit; shut off anything that’s noisier than it is useful; make brutally fast decisions about what I don’t need to be doing; avoid anything that feels like fake sincerity (especially where it may touch money); demand personal focus on making good things; put a handful of real people near the center of everything. All I know right now is that I want to do all of it better. Everything better.”

“And, to be honest, I don’t have a specific agenda for what I want to do all that differently, apart from what I’m already trying to do every day: Identify and destroy small-return bullshit; shut off anything that’s noisier than it is useful; make brutally fast decisions about what I don’t need to be doing; avoid anything that feels like fake sincerity (especially where it may touch money); demand personal focus on making good things; put a handful of real people near the center of everything. All I know right now is that I want to do all of it better. Everything better.”

“Invest in the inevitable.”

“Invest in the inevitable.”

“It’s not an apology if it comes with an excuse. It is not a compliment if it comes with a request.“

“It’s not an apology if it comes with an excuse. It is not a compliment if it comes with a request.“

1. “Whenever I want to write a big song, I can’t…That’s when I get writer’s block: when I try to write a song to fill the entire galaxy. I’ve never gotten a song that way. But if I write about something the size of a glass of water—a week later, I notice it’s got the universe in it. So I’d rather have the universe in a glass of water than try to make a glass of water fit in the universe.”

2. ”What connects with people is you connecting with yourself.”

3. “Writer’s block is when the two people inside of you—the writer and the reader—when the reader doesn’t love the writer. It is not a failure to write. It is a failure to catch the feedback loop of enjoying what you’re seeing and wanting to contribute more to it.”

4. “Don’t shoot ideas down before you have them. ‘That won’t work’ is the worst thing you can ever say. ‘That didn’t work’ is cool, but ‘that won’t work’ is not a way to go through life.”

5. “I’ve seen the Cool metric change so many times. I’m not telling you don’t chase Cool. I’m saying…by the time you reach what you think is cool, Cool is like, ‘over here now.’ ‘The princess is in another castle.’ You know what I mean? That’s a Mario reference.”

6. ”I’m one-half consumer, one-half artist. So I try to put music out that I myself would want to hear as somebody on the other end.”

7. ”I’m seeing a lot of motivation about you following your passion, but I’m not seeing any critical thought to what that is or how to be better at that. So, really the product is passion and that’s strange to me. Because my product growing up was sitting in a room yelling, ‘Mom, I’m practicing,’ for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours.

8. ”But then also read up…You know, this stuff doesn’t just appear. It comes from somewhere. And as soon as you realize you love something—it’s almost like catching up with some great TV show on season 9, and you can go, ‘oh my God, that means there’s 8 seasons before this.”

9. ”Whatever you learn is the tip of the iceberg. Dive underwater and find the rest of the iceberg.”

10. ”So listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan brought me back to people like Kenny Burrell and Albert King and Jimi Hendrix and Elmore James. So it became this family tree growing out of my CD player.”

11. ”I came up with these guys as like references…It’s like if you’re into the NBA and you wear different jerseys and you pretend you’re a different player in the driveway—that’s what I was doing…”

12. ”Which is a wonderful technique for being yourself. Failing to sound exactly like the person you want to sound like is a wonderful way to sound like yourself.”

13. After watching Cory Wong play guitar, Mayer told him, ”You have an anatomy thing working on your right hand. Your hand is shaped in a way—you have long fingers, very sinewy hands—that you’re able to play like that. That is an example of someone making the most of their anatomical gifts… And I wish more people could embrace finding what their strengths are anatomically—the way your hand is shaped, the way your mind works, whatever—and play to those strengths.”

14. Mayer picks up an acoustic guitar and demonstrates his songwriting process. “Well, I don’t always do it, because it requires a stupid bravery all the time. You just stare at the corner of the wall, stare at the corner of the wall, try to get it going on, but I can’t sometimes, you just keep going ’til you get something. You gotta keep forcing it, forcing it, forcing it…it doesn’t matter [what comes out of your mouth].”

1. “Whenever I want to write a big song, I can’t…That’s when I get writer’s block: when I try to write a song to fill the entire galaxy. I’ve never gotten a song that way. But if I write about something the size of a glass of water—a week later, I notice it’s got the universe in it. So I’d rather have the universe in a glass of water than try to make a glass of water fit in the universe.”

2. ”What connects with people is you connecting with yourself.”

3. “Writer’s block is when the two people inside of you—the writer and the reader—when the reader doesn’t love the writer. It is not a failure to write. It is a failure to catch the feedback loop of enjoying what you’re seeing and wanting to contribute more to it.”

4. “Don’t shoot ideas down before you have them. ‘That won’t work’ is the worst thing you can ever say. ‘That didn’t work’ is cool, but ‘that won’t work’ is not a way to go through life.”

5. “I’ve seen the Cool metric change so many times. I’m not telling you don’t chase Cool. I’m saying…by the time you reach what you think is cool, Cool is like, ‘over here now.’ ‘The princess is in another castle.’ You know what I mean? That’s a Mario reference.”

6. ”I’m one-half consumer, one-half artist. So I try to put music out that I myself would want to hear as somebody on the other end.”

7. ”I’m seeing a lot of motivation about you following your passion, but I’m not seeing any critical thought to what that is or how to be better at that. So, really the product is passion and that’s strange to me. Because my product growing up was sitting in a room yelling, ‘Mom, I’m practicing,’ for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours and hours.

8. ”But then also read up…You know, this stuff doesn’t just appear. It comes from somewhere. And as soon as you realize you love something—it’s almost like catching up with some great TV show on season 9, and you can go, ‘oh my God, that means there’s 8 seasons before this.”

9. ”Whatever you learn is the tip of the iceberg. Dive underwater and find the rest of the iceberg.”

10. ”So listening to Stevie Ray Vaughan brought me back to people like Kenny Burrell and Albert King and Jimi Hendrix and Elmore James. So it became this family tree growing out of my CD player.”

11. ”I came up with these guys as like references…It’s like if you’re into the NBA and you wear different jerseys and you pretend you’re a different player in the driveway—that’s what I was doing…”

12. ”Which is a wonderful technique for being yourself. Failing to sound exactly like the person you want to sound like is a wonderful way to sound like yourself.”

13. After watching Cory Wong play guitar, Mayer told him, ”You have an anatomy thing working on your right hand. Your hand is shaped in a way—you have long fingers, very sinewy hands—that you’re able to play like that. That is an example of someone making the most of their anatomical gifts… And I wish more people could embrace finding what their strengths are anatomically—the way your hand is shaped, the way your mind works, whatever—and play to those strengths.”

14. Mayer picks up an acoustic guitar and demonstrates his songwriting process. “Well, I don’t always do it, because it requires a stupid bravery all the time. You just stare at the corner of the wall, stare at the corner of the wall, try to get it going on, but I can’t sometimes, you just keep going ’til you get something. You gotta keep forcing it, forcing it, forcing it…it doesn’t matter [what comes out of your mouth].”

“Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job.”

“Lost wealth may be recovered but lost time confounds us.”

“Lost wealth may be recovered but lost time confounds us.”

”Might as well”

”Might as well”

“Never explain. Your enemies won’t believe you and your friends don’t need it.”

“Never explain. Your enemies won’t believe you and your friends don’t need it.”

“Ordinary people seek entertainment. Extraordinary people seek education and learning.”

“Ordinary people seek entertainment. Extraordinary people seek education and learning.”

“People assume that I am a hard-working, left-brained, results-oriented, OCD, anal-retentive kind of guy. In fact, the reason that I was attracted to this work was that it allowed me to be more creative, more spontaneous, freer. I’m a freedom guy.”

“People assume that I am a hard-working, left-brained, results-oriented, OCD, anal-retentive kind of guy. In fact, the reason that I was attracted to this work was that it allowed me to be more creative, more spontaneous, freer. I’m a freedom guy.”

1. Be patient. No matter what.
2. Don’t badmouth: Assign responsibility, not blame. Say nothing of another you wouldn’t say to him.
3. Never assume the motives of others are, to them, less noble than yours are to you.
4. Expand your sense of the possible.
5. Don’t trouble yourself with matters you truly cannot change.
6. Expect no more of anyone than you can deliver yourself.
7. Tolerate ambiguity.
8. Laugh at yourself frequently.
9. Concern yourself with what is right rather than who is right.
10. Never forget that, no matter how certain, you might be wrong.
11. Give up blood sports.
12. Remember that your life belongs to others as well. Don’t risk it frivolously.
13. Never lie to anyone for any reason. (Lies of omission are sometimes exempt.)
14. Learn the needs of those around you and respect them.
15. Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission and pursue that.
16. Reduce your use of the first personal pronoun.
17. Praise at least as often as you disparage.
18. Admit your errors freely and soon.
19. Become less suspicious of joy.
20. Understand humility.
21. Remember that love forgives everything.
22. Foster dignity.
23. Live memorably.
24. Love yourself.
25. Endure.

1. Be patient. No matter what.
2. Don’t badmouth: Assign responsibility, not blame. Say nothing of another you wouldn’t say to him.
3. Never assume the motives of others are, to them, less noble than yours are to you.
4. Expand your sense of the possible.
5. Don’t trouble yourself with matters you truly cannot change.
6. Expect no more of anyone than you can deliver yourself.
7. Tolerate ambiguity.
8. Laugh at yourself frequently.
9. Concern yourself with what is right rather than who is right.
10. Never forget that, no matter how certain, you might be wrong.
11. Give up blood sports.
12. Remember that your life belongs to others as well. Don’t risk it frivolously.
13. Never lie to anyone for any reason. (Lies of omission are sometimes exempt.)
14. Learn the needs of those around you and respect them.
15. Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission and pursue that.
16. Reduce your use of the first personal pronoun.
17. Praise at least as often as you disparage.
18. Admit your errors freely and soon.
19. Become less suspicious of joy.
20. Understand humility.
21. Remember that love forgives everything.
22. Foster dignity.
23. Live memorably.
24. Love yourself.
25. Endure.

”Punk rock made me woke.”

”Punk rock made me woke.”

“Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition.”

“Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition.”

“The big question about how people behave is whether they’ve got an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an Inner Scorecard.”

“The big question about how people behave is whether they’ve got an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an Inner Scorecard.”

“The real point of reading philosophy is to develop some sort of ethical muscle memory.”

“The real point of reading philosophy is to develop some sort of ethical muscle memory.”

“The really really great ones enjoy the process, they enjoy doing it; More than the act of what comes from winning it’s the fact that ‘I get to play’ and that ‘I get to improve’. And that part of it, if your joy comes from that, I think you are always fine.”

“The really really great ones enjoy the process, they enjoy doing it; More than the act of what comes from winning it’s the fact that ‘I get to play’ and that ‘I get to improve’. And that part of it, if your joy comes from that, I think you are always fine.”

“The what-if scenarios force me to think how I can be prepared no matter which way this all unfolds. Because on the other side of this… the people who are going to be the most successful are the ones that can pivot the quickest.”

“The what-if scenarios force me to think how I can be prepared no matter which way this all unfolds. Because on the other side of this… the people who are going to be the most successful are the ones that can pivot the quickest.”

Or: “Everybody likes being given a glass of water.”

It’s only advice for you because it had to be advice for me.

Or: “Everybody likes being given a glass of water.”

It’s only advice for you because it had to be advice for me.

“There are things about my job I don’t like but this is one of them that I do like; I get to use pretty much everything I have ever learned or think about.”

“There are things about my job I don’t like but this is one of them that I do like; I get to use pretty much everything I have ever learned or think about.”

“There are very few chances in life where you are faced with a decision to prove whether you are the thing you say you are or if you are full of shit.”

“There are very few chances in life where you are faced with a decision to prove whether you are the thing you say you are or if you are full of shit.”

”3 minutes with oxygen, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food, 3 months without hope, 3 seconds without common sense.”

“This, I submit, is the freedom of a real education, of learning how to be well-adjusted. You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t. You get to decide what to worship.

Because here’s something else that’s weird but true: in the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship–be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles–is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It’s been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness.

Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they’re evil or sinful, it’s that they’re unconscious. They are default settings.

They’re the kind of worship you just gradually slip into, day after day, getting more and more selective about what you see and how you measure value without ever being fully aware that that’s what you’re doing.”

“This, I submit, is the freedom of a real education, of learning how to be well-adjusted. You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t. You get to decide what to worship.

Because here’s something else that’s weird but true: in the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And the compelling reason for maybe choosing some sort of god or spiritual-type thing to worship–be it JC or Allah, be it YHWH or the Wiccan Mother Goddess, or the Four Noble Truths, or some inviolable set of ethical principles–is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. On one level, we all know this stuff already. It’s been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. The whole trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness.

Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they’re evil or sinful, it’s that they’re unconscious. They are default settings.

They’re the kind of worship you just gradually slip into, day after day, getting more and more selective about what you see and how you measure value without ever being fully aware that that’s what you’re doing.”

1. You should put on the best version of yourself when you go out in the world because that is a show of respect to the other people around you.

2. A gentleman today has to work. People who do not work are so boring and are usually bored. You have to be passionate, you have to be engaged and you have to be contributing to the world.

3. Manners are very important and actually knowing when things are appropriate. I always open doors for women, I carry their coat, I make sure that they’re walking on the inside of the street. Stand up when people arrive at and leave the dinner table.

4. Don’t be pretentious or racist or sexist or judge people by their background.

5. A man should never wear shorts in the city. Flip flops and shorts in the city are never appropriate. Shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or on the beach.

1. You should put on the best version of yourself when you go out in the world because that is a show of respect to the other people around you.

2. A gentleman today has to work. People who do not work are so boring and are usually bored. You have to be passionate, you have to be engaged and you have to be contributing to the world.

3. Manners are very important and actually knowing when things are appropriate. I always open doors for women, I carry their coat, I make sure that they’re walking on the inside of the street. Stand up when people arrive at and leave the dinner table.

4. Don’t be pretentious or racist or sexist or judge people by their background.

5. A man should never wear shorts in the city. Flip flops and shorts in the city are never appropriate. Shorts should only be worn on the tennis court or on the beach.

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”

“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”

“We are all Frankenstein monsters—patchwork quilts of past experiences—trying to pass ourselves off as whole and cohesive things.”

“We are all Frankenstein monsters—patchwork quilts of past experiences—trying to pass ourselves off as whole and cohesive things.”

“We are ghosts or we are ancestors in our children’s lives. We either lay our mistakes and our burdens upon them, and we haunt them as ghosts. Or, we assist them in laying those old burdens down, and we free them from the chains of our own flawed behavior, and as ancestors, we walk alongside of them, assisting them to find their own way, and some sense of transcendence.”

“We are ghosts or we are ancestors in our children’s lives. We either lay our mistakes and our burdens upon them, and we haunt them as ghosts. Or, we assist them in laying those old burdens down, and we free them from the chains of our own flawed behavior, and as ancestors, we walk alongside of them, assisting them to find their own way, and some sense of transcendence.”

“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

”When choosing a new habit many people seem to ask themselves, “What can I do on my best days?” The trick is to ask, “What can I stick to even on my worst days?”

“What is the cost of lies? It’s not that we will mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that, if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize the truth at all. What can we do then? What else is left but to abandon even the hope of truth and content ourselves instead with stories? In these stories, it doesn’t matter who the heroes are. All we want to know is who is to blame.”

“What is the cost of lies? It’s not that we will mistake them for the truth. The real danger is that, if we hear enough lies, then we no longer recognize the truth at all. What can we do then? What else is left but to abandon even the hope of truth and content ourselves instead with stories? In these stories, it doesn’t matter who the heroes are. All we want to know is who is to blame.”

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'”

“Something I explained to my 12 yo: When you’re a little kid, your parents create your environment. Then there’s a second stage where your peers do. Then for ambitious people there’s a third stage where you create your own environment by choosing your own peers.”

Because book quality has nothing to do with release date.

Books aren’t fruit.

And because ”classics” means a huge, multi-century or millennia long filtering process, where it has been found good, useful, and insightful for generations upon generations of people.

Also, because all the best of your modern books will soon enough be ”classics” too, and you’ll be as dead as the people who wrote the older classics. So what makes you think you or your contemporary authors have some unique insight just because you happen to be living at the moment?

Only a belief in an arrow of progress where non-technical things (morals, books, ideas) get monotonically better (or at least, where the dominant vector over time points to better) would justify not reading the classics. But then again only someone ignorant enough to not have read the classics would believe such an idea. So reading the classics will cure you of that too.

(Even for technical things it’s not always the case - there were civilizations more advanced than those that followed them, or periods where we went backwards in quality of life, knowledge of science, etc., for centuries - but at least with technical knowledge it’s possible to amass and improve. You don’t amass morals however, and even the higher moral ideas and ideals can be used for the worst atrocities).

Because book quality has nothing to do with release date.

Books aren’t fruit.

And because ”classics” means a huge, multi-century or millennia long filtering process, where it has been found good, useful, and insightful for generations upon generations of people.

Also, because all the best of your modern books will soon enough be ”classics” too, and you’ll be as dead as the people who wrote the older classics. So what makes you think you or your contemporary authors have some unique insight just because you happen to be living at the moment?

Only a belief in an arrow of progress where non-technical things (morals, books, ideas) get monotonically better (or at least, where the dominant vector over time points to better) would justify not reading the classics. But then again only someone ignorant enough to not have read the classics would believe such an idea. So reading the classics will cure you of that too.

(Even for technical things it’s not always the case - there were civilizations more advanced than those that followed them, or periods where we went backwards in quality of life, knowledge of science, etc., for centuries - but at least with technical knowledge it’s possible to amass and improve. You don’t amass morals however, and even the higher moral ideas and ideals can be used for the worst atrocities).

“You don’t need to know anything. Everything you need to know you will figure it out when you need to know it. Even if you miscalculate and make the wrong decision, you needed to know that.”

“You don’t need to know anything. Everything you need to know you will figure it out when you need to know it. Even if you miscalculate and make the wrong decision, you needed to know that.”

“Your boos mean nothing, I’ve seen what Mmakes you cheer.”

“Your boos mean nothing, I’ve seen what Mmakes you cheer.”

”Compare yourself to only one man; the previous version of yourself.”

”Do it right the first time every time.”

”Do it right the first time every time.”

”Do not show up to compete. Show up to beat them.”

”Do not show up to compete. Show up to beat them.”

”Don’t put the guy with the broom in charge of how many elephants are in the parade.”

”Don’t put the guy with the broom in charge of how many elephants are in the parade.”

”Don’t set your goals with a number. Your first goal should be your family, community, and then down the line you’ll have the amount of money you want to make. I think too many people forget their families and they go after the money.

People want integrity. They want to know that they can trust you. You’re not going to sell them something that they shouldn’t have. We just try and get along with people and help them make their own decisions.”

”Don’t set your goals with a number. Your first goal should be your family, community, and then down the line you’ll have the amount of money you want to make. I think too many people forget their families and they go after the money.

People want integrity. They want to know that they can trust you. You’re not going to sell them something that they shouldn’t have. We just try and get along with people and help them make their own decisions.”

”Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

”Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

”Everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, it’s not the end.”

”Everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, it’s not the end.”

”Stop buying the unnecessary.

Toss half your stuff, learn contentedness.

Reduce half again.

List 4 essential things in your life, do these first, stop doing the non-essential.

Clear distractions, focus on each moment.

Let go of attachment to doing, having more.

Fall in love with less.”

”Stop buying the unnecessary.

Toss half your stuff, learn contentedness.

Reduce half again.

List 4 essential things in your life, do these first, stop doing the non-essential.

Clear distractions, focus on each moment.

Let go of attachment to doing, having more.

Fall in love with less.”

”For a great payoff, be especially curious about the things you are not interested in.”

”For a great payoff, be especially curious about the things you are not interested in.”

”Good design is as little design as possible.”

”Good design is as little design as possible.”

”Good people are punished by Murphy’s law.”

”Good, on time, cheap — pick two.”

”Good, on time, cheap — pick two.”

”Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

”Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”

”Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things.”

”Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things.”

”How do I land this thing? Oh don’t worry about it, just take off.”

”How do I land this thing? Oh don’t worry about it, just take off.”

”How do you know your ladder is against the right wall?”

”How do you know your ladder is against the right wall?”

”How you do anything is how you do everything.”

”How you do anything is how you do everything.”

”I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.”

”I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.”

”I do not strive for perfection, I strive for consistency. Use realistic expectations and focus on specific controllable items.”

”I do not strive for perfection, I strive for consistency. Use realistic expectations and focus on specific controllable items.”

”I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, because that’s when it really counts.”

”I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, because that’s when it really counts.”

”I firmly believe that it doesn’t take any talent to play hard. You play for 3 hours a day, have 4 or 5 at bats - why can’t you play hard? There is always someone who is going to be better, more talented, but there is no reason someone should out work you or play harder.”

”I firmly believe that it doesn’t take any talent to play hard. You play for 3 hours a day, have 4 or 5 at bats - why can’t you play hard? There is always someone who is going to be better, more talented, but there is no reason someone should out work you or play harder.”

”I got that ‘excited, scared’ feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it’s more - It could be two - it could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that’s what makes it so intense, it’s so - confused. I can’t really figure it out.”

”I got that ‘excited, scared’ feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it’s more - It could be two - it could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that’s what makes it so intense, it’s so - confused. I can’t really figure it out.”

”I keep saying the same thing over, it’s the not best team that wins - it’s the team that plays the best on that day. Well, that was quite a few days we played better than the teams we played and that’s why we headed to the World Series.”

”I keep saying the same thing over, it’s the not best team that wins - it’s the team that plays the best on that day. Well, that was quite a few days we played better than the teams we played and that’s why we headed to the World Series.”

”I must decline for secret reasons.”

”…The entire thing is rigged by my having constrained it to the handful of topics about which I am certain I know my shit. That when I put forth an opinion, I know in advance that I am right.

Such is my nature. I tend only to play games which I’m already good at, and only to undertake endeavors which I feel certain will be successful.”

”I think entrepreneurs and explorers have a lot in common. They head off into uncharted territory and they maintain this ability to adapt, to circumstances that are chaotic, unknown and extremely challenging. And they can maintain some order in all the chaos to actually achieve a goal.”

”I think entrepreneurs and explorers have a lot in common. They head off into uncharted territory and they maintain this ability to adapt, to circumstances that are chaotic, unknown and extremely challenging. And they can maintain some order in all the chaos to actually achieve a goal.”

”I will prepare and someday my chance will come”

”I will prepare and someday my chance will come”

”I’d say the best take away was the ability to be given some novel task and excel at it in a very short time with nearly total self reliance.”

”I’d say the best take away was the ability to be given some novel task and excel at it in a very short time with nearly total self reliance.”

”I’m a humble guy, and I’m proud of that.”

”If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered.”

”If you can talk brilliantly about a problem, it can create the consoling illusion that it has been mastered.”

”When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: ”If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ”If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been ”No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

”If you’re not living on the edge you are taking up too much space.”

”In the 50th year of the franchise, in their 39th year in Texas, under a full moon in Arlington, the Texas Rangers have won the American League pennant.”

”It doesn’t take long for water to reach its own level”

”It pays to be a winner.”

”Just because there is a pair of shoes doesn’t mean you have to stand in them.”

”Just because there is a pair of shoes doesn’t mean you have to stand in them.”

”Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you.”

”Know more today about the world than you knew yesterday. Along the way, lessen the suffering of others.”

”Know more today about the world than you knew yesterday. Along the way, lessen the suffering of others.”

”Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

”Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

”Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”

”Loser’s visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success.”

”Loser’s visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success.”

”May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam. May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures. May all life’s passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!”

”May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

May love and laughter light your days, and warm your heart and home. May good and faithful friends be yours, wherever you may roam. May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures. May all life’s passing seasons bring the best to you and yours!”

”Mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it won’t matter.”

”Most people will give everything to win. Few people will give everything to prepare to win.”

”Most people will give everything to win. Few people will give everything to prepare to win.”

”Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”

”Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”

”No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.”

”No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.”

”Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit.”

”Now in this process, another thing that is happening that is very important…

Is that you’re breathing.

And as you start meditation, you allow your breath to run — just as it wills. In other words, don’t do, at first, any breathing exercise. But just watch your breath breathing the way it wants to breathe. And then notice a curious thing about this. You say in the ordinary way, “I breathe.” Because you feel that breathing is something that you are doing voluntarily. Just in the same way as you might be walking or talking. But you will also notice that when you are not thinking about breathing, your breathing goes on just the same.

So the curious thing about breath is that it can be looked at both as a voluntary and an involuntary action. You can feel on the one hand, “I am doing it” and on the other hand, “It is happening to me.” And that is why breathing is a most important part of meditation. Because it is going to show you, as you become aware of your breath, that the hard and fast division that we make between what we do, on the one hand, and what happens to us on the other, is arbitrary. So that as you watch your breathing, you will become aware, that both the voluntary and the involuntary aspects of your experience are all one happening.

Now that may, at first, seem a little scary. Because you may think, ‘Well am I just the puppet of a happening? The mere passive witness of something that’s going on completely beyond my control?’ Or on the other hand, ‘Am I really doing everything that’s going along? Well if I were, I should be God. And that would be very embarrassing because I would be in charge of everything. That would be a terribly responsible position.’

The truth of the matter, as you will see it, is that both things are true. You conceed that everything is happening to you. And on the other hand you are doing everything.

For example, it’s your eyes that are turning the sun into light. It’s the nerve ends in your skin that are turning electric vibrations in the air into heat and temperature. It’s your ear drums that are turning vibrations in the air into sound.

And in that way you are creating the world.

But — when we’re not talking about it, when we’re not philosophizing about it, then there is just this happening, this…

And we won’t give it a name.”

”Now in this process, another thing that is happening that is very important…

Is that you’re breathing.

And as you start meditation, you allow your breath to run — just as it wills. In other words, don’t do, at first, any breathing exercise. But just watch your breath breathing the way it wants to breathe. And then notice a curious thing about this. You say in the ordinary way, “I breathe.” Because you feel that breathing is something that you are doing voluntarily. Just in the same way as you might be walking or talking. But you will also notice that when you are not thinking about breathing, your breathing goes on just the same.

So the curious thing about breath is that it can be looked at both as a voluntary and an involuntary action. You can feel on the one hand, “I am doing it” and on the other hand, “It is happening to me.” And that is why breathing is a most important part of meditation. Because it is going to show you, as you become aware of your breath, that the hard and fast division that we make between what we do, on the one hand, and what happens to us on the other, is arbitrary. So that as you watch your breathing, you will become aware, that both the voluntary and the involuntary aspects of your experience are all one happening.

Now that may, at first, seem a little scary. Because you may think, ‘Well am I just the puppet of a happening? The mere passive witness of something that’s going on completely beyond my control?’ Or on the other hand, ‘Am I really doing everything that’s going along? Well if I were, I should be God. And that would be very embarrassing because I would be in charge of everything. That would be a terribly responsible position.’

The truth of the matter, as you will see it, is that both things are true. You conceed that everything is happening to you. And on the other hand you are doing everything.

For example, it’s your eyes that are turning the sun into light. It’s the nerve ends in your skin that are turning electric vibrations in the air into heat and temperature. It’s your ear drums that are turning vibrations in the air into sound.

And in that way you are creating the world.

But — when we’re not talking about it, when we’re not philosophizing about it, then there is just this happening, this…

And we won’t give it a name.”

”Objective judgment, now at this very moment. Unselfish action, now at this very moment. Willing acceptance—now at this very moment—of all external events. That’s all you need.”

”One day you will have more past than future.”

”One day you will have more past than future.”

”Only ideas that make sense to them are adopted; those that don’t, aren’t, no matter who thought of them.”

”Our present actions set up the conditions that determine our path and everything we do, no matter how small, really matters.”

”Our present actions set up the conditions that determine our path and everything we do, no matter how small, really matters.”

”Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn’t even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. But one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”

”Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with?”

”Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with?”

”Perform the common, uncommonly well.”

”Perform the common, uncommonly well.”

”Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”

”Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”

”So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

”So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

”Sometimes I don’t feel like doing a workout. Therefore, I’m going to do it, as punishment for being weak.”

”Sometimes I don’t feel like doing a workout. Therefore, I’m going to do it, as punishment for being weak.”

”Stable is that step backwards between success and failing.”

”Stable is that step backwards between success and failing.”

”Talented people are good at hitting targets others can’t hit, but geniuses find targets others can’t see. They are opposite modes of excellence. Talent is predictable, genius is unpredictable.”

”Talented people are good at hitting targets others can’t hit, but geniuses find targets others can’t see. They are opposite modes of excellence. Talent is predictable, genius is unpredictable.”

”Technology is letting people get their questions answered betters so they stay more curious. It makes it easier to know a lot of topics which turns out to be pretty important to contribute to solving complex problems.”

”Technology is letting people get their questions answered betters so they stay more curious. It makes it easier to know a lot of topics which turns out to be pretty important to contribute to solving complex problems.”

”That is why I took up the gun - not to shoot, not to kill, not to destroy, but to stop those who would do evil, to protect the vulnerable, to defend democratic values, to stand up for the freedom we have to talk… about how we can make the world a better place.”

”The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people.”

”The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people.”

”The challenge for anyone interested in making progress is to simultaneously have (1) the confidence to go after what you want and (2) the humility to accept who you are right now and (3) the willingness to build skills that bridge the gap between 1 and 2.”

”The challenge for anyone interested in making progress is to simultaneously have (1) the confidence to go after what you want and (2) the humility to accept who you are right now and (3) the willingness to build skills that bridge the gap between 1 and 2.”

”The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”

”The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”

”The future favors those prepared in mind, body, and spirit.”

”The future favors those prepared in mind, body, and spirit.”

”The greatest truths are the simplest, and so are the greatest men.”

”The greatest truths are the simplest, and so are the greatest men.”

”The list of mistakes you can never recover from is very short. But you likely realize your life will not be destroyed if your book doesn’t sell or if a potential date turns you down or if your startup goes bust. It’s not the failed outcome that paralyzes us. It’s the possibility of looking stupid, feeling humiliated, or dealing with embarrassment that prevents us from getting started at all. The first step to being courageous is being willing to look foolish.”

”The list of mistakes you can never recover from is very short. But you likely realize your life will not be destroyed if your book doesn’t sell or if a potential date turns you down or if your startup goes bust. It’s not the failed outcome that paralyzes us. It’s the possibility of looking stupid, feeling humiliated, or dealing with embarrassment that prevents us from getting started at all. The first step to being courageous is being willing to look foolish.”

”The magic happens when you find the sweet spot where your genuine interests, skills, and opportunity intersect.”

”The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.”

”The man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can’t are both right.”

”The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in war.”

”The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in war.”

”The most accomplished people I know share three traits:

1. Bias toward taking action. No lazy deferring.

2. Always looking to prove themselves wrong.

3. Regularly reassess their priorities without any fear of changing them.

Key: They balance progress with indulging curiosity.”

”The most accomplished people I know share three traits:

1. Bias toward taking action. No lazy deferring.

2. Always looking to prove themselves wrong.

3. Regularly reassess their priorities without any fear of changing them.

Key: They balance progress with indulging curiosity.”

”The only time you look in your neighbor’s bowl is to make sure that they have enough.”

”The only time you look in your neighbor’s bowl is to make sure that they have enough.”

”The root cause of all conflict is the violation of expectation.”

”The root cause of all conflict is the violation of expectation.”

”The smartest people I’ve met:

They retrain their minds to enjoy being wrong.

They get a dopamine hit when proven wrong because they’re excited to be closer to the truth. The truth is addictive.

In contrast, if you refuse to lose a debate, your brain keeps running old firmware.”

”The world is not run by exceptional people. This is the hidden reason for imposter syndrome. We mistakenly think imposter syndrome is due to low confidence/anxiety. No, it’s caused by not accepting that your new, world-class peers aren’t that special. It’s just discipline.”

”The young know the rules. The old know the exceptions.”

”The young know the rules. The old know the exceptions.”

”There is something magical about the early morning. It’s a time when the world belongs to only those few who are awake. And we walk around like kings while others remain unseen in their beds.”

”There was a young man that wanted to make a lot of money, right? So he went to this guru and told him, ”I want to be on the same level that you’re on.”

The guru told him, ”If you want to be on the same level I’m on, I’ll meet you tomorrow at the beach.”

So the young man got there at 4 A.M, all ready to rock and roll, got on a suit when he shoulda wore shorts. The old man grabs his hand and says, ”How bad do you want to be successful?”

He said, ”Real bad.”

The old man says, ”Walk on out into the water.”

So he walks on out into the water, waist deep. So, to himself, he’s like, ”This guy is crazy.”

He’s thinkin', ”I wanna make money, he’s got me out here swimming. I don’t want to be a life guard, I want to make money.”

The old man says, ”Come out a little further.”

He walked out a little further, out to his shoulder area. He’s thinking, ”This old man is crazy, he’s makin' money but he’s crazy.”

The old man says, ”Come out a little further.”

He came out a little further, it’s right at his mouth and he’s thinking, ”I’m about to go right back, this guys out of his mind.”

So the old man said, ”I thought you wanted to be successful?”

He said, ”I do!”

The old man said, ”Walk a little further.”

He did, he walked a little further. The old man grabbed his head, under water, held him down, the guy was kickin' and scratchin', still holding him down, he had him held down and just before he was about to pass out the old man raised him up.

”When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breath, then you’ll be successful.”

”There was a young man that wanted to make a lot of money, right? So he went to this guru and told him, ”I want to be on the same level that you’re on.”

The guru told him, ”If you want to be on the same level I’m on, I’ll meet you tomorrow at the beach.”

So the young man got there at 4 A.M, all ready to rock and roll, got on a suit when he shoulda wore shorts. The old man grabs his hand and says, ”How bad do you want to be successful?”

He said, ”Real bad.”

The old man says, ”Walk on out into the water.”

So he walks on out into the water, waist deep. So, to himself, he’s like, ”This guy is crazy.”

He’s thinkin', ”I wanna make money, he’s got me out here swimming. I don’t want to be a life guard, I want to make money.”

The old man says, ”Come out a little further.”

He walked out a little further, out to his shoulder area. He’s thinking, ”This old man is crazy, he’s makin' money but he’s crazy.”

The old man says, ”Come out a little further.”

He came out a little further, it’s right at his mouth and he’s thinking, ”I’m about to go right back, this guys out of his mind.”

So the old man said, ”I thought you wanted to be successful?”

He said, ”I do!”

The old man said, ”Walk a little further.”

He did, he walked a little further. The old man grabbed his head, under water, held him down, the guy was kickin' and scratchin', still holding him down, he had him held down and just before he was about to pass out the old man raised him up.

”When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breath, then you’ll be successful.”

”Throw a stone into a stream. The running water would smooth the surface, but the inner part remains unchanged. Take that same stone and place it in the intense fires of a forge, and the whole stone changes inside and outside. It all melts.”

”Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can do what others can’t.”

”Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can do what others can’t.”

”Today you…tomorrow me.”

”Today you…tomorrow me.”

”Try never to be the smartest person in the room. If you are, find a different room.”

”We create art to find out what we think, not to express what we think.”

”We create art to find out what we think, not to express what we think.”

”We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.”

”We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.”

”What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.”

”When character is lost, all is lost.”

”When character is lost, all is lost.”

”When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That is my religion.”

”When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That is my religion.”

”When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won had he stuck it out; Don’t give up though the pace seems slow– You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than, It seems to a faint and faltering man, Often the struggler has given up, When he might have captured the victor’s cup, And he learned too late when the night slipped down, How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out– The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far, So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit– It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.”

”When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won had he stuck it out; Don’t give up though the pace seems slow– You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than, It seems to a faint and faltering man, Often the struggler has given up, When he might have captured the victor’s cup, And he learned too late when the night slipped down, How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out– The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems so far, So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit– It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.”

”When you first rise in the morning tell yourself: I will encounter busy-bodies, ingrates, egomaniacs, liars, envy-mongers, and cranks. They are all stricken with these afflictions because they don’t know the difference between good and evil. Because I have understood the beauty of good and the ugliness of evil, I know that these wrong-doers are still akin to me…and that none can do me harm, or implicate me in ugliness–nor can I be angry at my relatives or hate them. For we are made for cooperation.”

”When you first rise in the morning tell yourself: I will encounter busy-bodies, ingrates, egomaniacs, liars, envy-mongers, and cranks. They are all stricken with these afflictions because they don’t know the difference between good and evil. Because I have understood the beauty of good and the ugliness of evil, I know that these wrong-doers are still akin to me…and that none can do me harm, or implicate me in ugliness–nor can I be angry at my relatives or hate them. For we are made for cooperation.”

”When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.”

”Where does a wise man hide a leaf? In the forest.”

”Where does a wise man hide a leaf? In the forest.”

”Work smarter, not harder.”

”Work smarter, not harder.”

”You are the universe, expressing itself as a human, for a little while.”

”You could not step twice into the same river.”

”You could not step twice into the same river.”

”You don’t drown by falling in the water.”

”You don’t drown by falling in the water.”

”You may pray differently than me, you may eat different meals than me, you may celebrate different holidays than me, you may speak another language or wear different clothes or have different traditions than me, but you are American, and therefore you are with me.”

”You may pray differently than me, you may eat different meals than me, you may celebrate different holidays than me, you may speak another language or wear different clothes or have different traditions than me, but you are American, and therefore you are with me.”

”You never know how a bootyhole gonna act under the big lights.”

”You never know how a bootyhole gonna act under the big lights.”

”Your brain is for having ideas, not holding ideas.”

”Your brain is for having ideas, not holding ideas.”